Storage equipment and the like



United States Patent Of 2,907,617 STORAGE EQUIPMENT AND THE LIKE William H. Worrall, Manchester, England Application October 26, 1956, Serial No. 618,613 Claims priority, application Great Britain March '13, 1956 Claims. (Cl. 312-201) This invention relates to storage and like arrangements such as used to accommodate a wide range of articles in a manner permitting ready access thereto. The usual arrangements comprise fixed cabinets, divided by horizontal and in some cases vertical partitions, arranged at the opposite sides of gangways for the passage of persons requiring access to the cabinets to place articles therein or remove articles therefrom. Owing to the limitation of hand reach, the depth or reach of the shelving in the cabinets rarely exceeds 18 inches. The gangway is normally 3 feet in width. With such an arrangement half of the floor area is taken up with gangways.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved storage arrangement in which the ratio of storage to gangway floor area is increased.

According to the invention, a storage unit comprises a cabinet with usual partitions therein adapted to be turned about an axis which permits the cabinet to be moved into a gangway and having its outer side open to give access to a person in a gangway to the goods or materials in the cabinet, the unit when not required being turned clear of the gangways.

The invention further comprises a storage arrangement comprising a plurality of cabinets as aforesaid nested one within or adjacent to another, with the axes of the several cabinets spaced apart to permit the separate cabinets to be moved about their respective axes to come into a gangway clear of the other cabinets and expose its contents in such gangway.

The invention further comprises the formation of each cabinet as part, preferably about a quarter, of an annulus which is supported by means which can turn about the axis of the annulus. The bottom support may comprise wheels running on a track which may incorporate a guide rail or rails.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view and Figure 2 a side view of a cabinet constructed and arranged in one convenient form in accordance with this invention.

Figures 3 and 4 show a modification of the lower part of the cabinet shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 5 shows the arrangement in a row of a number of the improved cabinets, with an indication of how access to any cabinet is obtained.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a cabinet 1 which is bowed to form a quarter part of an annulus and is open at its outer side is subdivided by shelves a and partitions 11 into conveniently sized compartments. The cabinet is provided at top and bottom with radius arms 2, 2 and 3, 3 respectively, the top arms 2, 2 sloping up towards a boss 4, and the bottom arms sloping down towards a boss 5. Pins 6 and 7 pass through holes in the bosses 4 and 5, such pins being mounted on the ceiling and floor respectively of a storage room, so that the cabinet 1 may be turned by means of a handle 8 about the common axes of the pins 6 and 7.

In Figure 2 there is shown a series of pairs of upper and lower pivot pins 13 which enable further similar cabi- 2,907,617 Patented Oct. 6, 1959 "ice degrees, as shown in dot and dash lines in Figure 5, to

expose the whole of the contents or through a less angle to expose only a part of the contents. When a cabinet is withdrawn to its fullest extent, it takes up a position in a gangway as a shallow are extending alongside cabinets which are in the closed position in the row.

In Figures 3 and 4, the radius arms 3, 3 below a cabinet and the pivotal arrangement of boss 5 and pin 7 are replaced by runner wheels 11 and 12 which run on a track. The wheels in conjunction with the track take the weight of the cabinet and may also serve as a guide for the cabinet whilst it is being turned about its pivotal axis.

As an example, a suitable mean radius for a cabinet adapted to the storage of hardware or wearing apparel could be three feet, which would enable a cabinet of four feet six inches in width to be used, which is substantially one quarter of the total circumference based on such mean radius. With such an arrangement, a gangway of say three feet may be made to serve two rows of cabinets at opposite sides of the gangway. The ratio of efifective storage area to gangway space is three to one, or three times greater than that for fixed shelving. Because of this improved ratio, it is possible to restrict the height of the cabinets, if desired, whilst still obtaining some improvement in the storage capacity. In this way, the use of step ladders and the like which are an encumbrance and source of risk, especially when delicate or heavy articles are to be handled, may be avoided.

The rolling resistance of a cabinet mounted on runner wheels may be in the region of 20 pounds per ton. Therefore where the combined weight of cabinet and contents is exceptional and too great to allow easy manual manipulation, each cabinet may be fitted with a simple servomechanism, electrically or air pressure operated, to efiect movement of the cabinet against the rolling resistance. For example, an air pressure supply may be led to a piston and cylinder arrangement which may be double acting to control opening and closing. Alternatively, a single acting cylinder may be used in conjunction with a spring or weight loaded return.

As a further alternative Where heavy load or large cabinets are concerned, cabinets normally proportioned as roughly in length of arc, may be divided into two parts of approximately 45, each part being separately moveable, and provided with its own radius arms and runner wheels.

Cabinets as described may also be used to display equipment. An assembly or row of cabinets can be arranged to carry an extensive selection of articles. Automatic operation by electrical means or by air pressure may be time phased to seleotsuccessive cabinets to be drawn out into a position open for inspection. In this. manner a panoramic sequence of a large stock of articles may be displayed in relatively small floor space.

What I claim is:

1. A storage arrangement comprising a plurality of storage units, each of which comprises cabinet means shaped as a partial annulus and support means adapted for movement of said cabinet means through a limited angle of rotation about substantially the axis of the annulus, said storage units being nested adjacent one another with the axes of rotation of the said plurality of units being spaced apart to permit each said unit to be rotated into a gangway beside the other units to expose the contents of the cabinet means.

2. A storage arrangement comprising a plurality of storage units, each of which comprises cabinet means shaped as substantially a quarter of a full annulus and support means adapted for movement of saidcabinet means through a limited angle of rotation about substantially the axis of the annulus, the axes of rotation being arranged in substantially one Vertical plane and spaced apart in such plane by a distance which is slightly greater than the thickness of each cabinet means measured in a radial direction, access to any cabinet means in the row so formed being obtained by rotation of that cabinet means through 90 degrees.

3. A storage arrangement comprising a plurality of storage units, each of which comprises cabinet means shaped as a quarter of a full annulus and support means adapted for movement of said cabinet means through a limited angle of rotation about substantially the axis of the annulus, said storage units being nested adjacent one another with the axes of rotation of the said plurality of units being spaced apart to permit each said unit to be rotated into a gangway beside the other units to expose the contents of the cabinet means.

4. A storage arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said support means for each cabinet means comprises upper radius arms, lower radius arms, an upper pin and a lower pivot pin, said upper radius arms rising from the top of said cabinet means to said upper pivot pin about which said arms turn, and said lower radiusarms descending from the bottom of said cabinet means to said lower pivot pin about which said lower radius arms turn.

5. A storage arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said support means for each cabinet means comprises radius arms which rise from the top of said cabinet means to a pivot pin about which said arms turn, and runner wheels mounted beneath said cabinet means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 180,605 Lee Aug. 1, 1876 766,660 Bohannan Aug. 2, 1904 899,399 Hornig Sept. 22, 1908 968,754 Emmons Aug. 30, 1910 1,028,593 Naumann June 4, 1912 1,430,465 Niemuth Sept. 26, 1922 2,019,054 Manz -i Oct. 29, 1935 2,339,627 Edison Jan.18,' 1944 

